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The Elms Mansion, Newport RI |
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Although this Newport mansion is grand, it is also supremely harmonious, having been modeled on a chateau in France. |
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E J Berwind, son of a Philadelphia tradesman, got an appointment to the US Naval Academy, and served in the Navy until mustered out with high rank because of an injury. He soon made it big in the coal business, and secured the contract to supply all US Navy ships with coal. With the profits he built The Elms, perhaps the most gracious and pleasant of the Newport mansions. The sunken formal garden at the far end of the spacious lawn was designed by a French landscape artist. The Elms is the masterpiece of Philadelphia architect Horace Trumbauer. It was threatened with destruction when a land development firm bought it and planned to build a housing project on the site, but was saved by the zoning laws and the Preservation Society. Few of the original furnishings are left, but the mansion has been furnished with pieces from museum collections and private lenders.
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The Elms, perhaps the most beautiful and harmonious of Newport's palatial mansions.
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